OR Smoothie & Cafe. Raw, Cooked, Vegan eats in St. Louis. East St. Louis Stray Dogs.

Vegan Tofu Wrap from OR Smoothie & Cafe in the Central West End, St. Louis.   They also have a Portabella Wrap that is vegan and a Tempeh Wrap which can be made Vegan.  The "Central West End" (CWE) in St. Louis is a trendy area near Barnes Jewish Hospital  and parts of  Washington University.  Home to a lot of restaurants, trendy shops, coffee places,  and bar/night spots.  It's North/South borders would probably be Delmar (north) and Forest Park Parkway (South).  And the Western border is Kingshighway.  Eastern border may be Taylor....So it's a nice area to walk around after noshing on vegan eats.  If you are from out of town, you might want to head over to The St. Louis Cathedral.  The mosaics will blow you away. A major "quiet" tourist attraction at 4431 Lindell.

 OR Smoothie & Cafe in the Central West End. 
6654 Clayton Road  St. Louis, MO 63117-1602(314) 647-8881

Not all vegetarian, but a fair number of options for vegans and even raw juices and a raw nori wrap.


Salads:  House Salad (vegan): organic baby spring mix, carrots, 
cucumber, onion, tomato, avocado, 
served with our famous House dressing


Caesar Salad (can be vegan): romaine lettuce topped with organic
Caesar dressing, house made organic croutons, parmesan cheese, and
tomatoes.


Spinach Salad (vegan): spinach, red onion, sundried tomatoes, house
crouton, veggie bacon bits, and Shitake dressing.

Rolls:  Raw Nori Rolls (vegan): organic spring mix, carrots,
 cucumbers, onion and avocado wrapped in Nori paper and served
 with our Bragg wasabi sauce.   

Veggie Sushi (vegan): brown rice, carrot, celery,
tofu, and avocado

Veggie Spring Rolls (vegan): a light and healthy 

Vietnamese wrap made with green leaf lettuce, 

mint, tofu, jicama, and peanuts, all wrapped in rice paper

 and served with the house Bragg sauce

 Or Juice & Smoothie has another location on Clayton Road (which is perpetually rushed by Bikram students just getting out of class).  This Euclid Location is a bit bigger than the Clayton Road location,  which has limited seating and a no cell phone policy.  I believe that you can use your phone/ipad, etc...and you won't get busted for changing the cellular integrity of the supplements nearby.   You order at the counter.  Which means you don't have to worry about "figuring out a tip".  Lots of vegan options and dishes with a star noting "may be made vegan".  They use Bragg's a lot, so many of the dishes can be gluten free (vs. soy sauce which contains gluten).

 I love that this place is "centrally located" so it is an option if I meet up with folks who like to eat healthier but may not want to go to a "full on" vegan place.  Well, there is only one of those in city limits (PuraVegan) and they are not open for lunch.  So this & Whole Foods are my best options.  VegaDeli would be great, but that is a trek from downtown.

 They are mostly vegetarian and do have some vegan options.  Full Line of Juices (except you can't really get JUST a green juice).  Wheatgrass Shots.  Smoothies.

Some Menu Items:


Wraps: Tofu Wrap (vegan): marinated tofu, tomatoes, onion, herb, fresh green
leaf lettuce, brown rice, and house hummus.

Portabella Wrap (vegan): sautéed portabella, onions, red bells, yellow
squash, fresh green leaf lettuce, brown rice, and house hummus.

Tempeh Wrap (can be vegan): tempeh, green leaf lettuce, spinach,
tomatoes, onion, cucumbers, feta cheese, brown rice, and house hummus.

Sandwiches:  Portabella Sandwich (can be vegan): sautéed portabella mushroom,

onions, red bell, yellow squash, melted organic cheese, LTO, and pesto 
mayo served on a delicious John Dough bread.

Veggie Sandwich (vegan): organic house hummus,
 avocado, cucumber, 
shaved carrots, and LTO on multigrain bread.

House Veggie Burger (can be vegan): our award winning house-made

organic burger served with LTO, ketchup, and mayo.

 This is my staple, Raw Vegan Nori Rolls.  Nori with carrots, lettuce, sprouts, and avocado and a Dipping Sauce (with Bragg's as a base).  So gluten free as well.  It's yummy.  Seriously "clean" and a "no guilt" meal.  

Soups: Soups:     Two delicious vegan house made organic soups

• Pea
• Lentil & Squash

 The food is beautiful.


House Rice Bowl (vegan): organic brown rice topped with sautéed
portabella, red bell pepper, squash, onion, a side of salad with marinated
tofu.


Raw Feta Pizza (can be vegan): organic: pita bread, hummus, onion,
cucumber, tomatoes, leaf lettuce, feta cheese (or avocado if vegan), olives,
and sun dried tomatoes.

 There isn't a ton of ambiance in this place.  But they have good clean food. Service is speedy enough and seems like they are pretty used to dealing with rushes as it is close to the hospital and student base.

Power Smoothies:
 8) Protein Strawberry apple juice, strawberry, bananas, whey protein
9) Protein Energizer apple juice, mixed berries, bananas, sherbet, rice protein
(contains Siberian Ginseng)
10) Choco Choco milk, banana, chocolate whey protein
11) *Peach Recovery peach, banana, nectar, yogurt, rehydrating supplement
with electrolytes
12) *Miracle Green mango, orange, banana, organic miracle greens
13) *Ultimate Power apple juice, mixed berries, bananas, ultimate meal, sherbet

 Wheatgrass.  Sometimes I get a regular juice here as well, but juices are pricey when out.

Non-Dairy Smoothies: These smoothies are blended with just fruit and juice.
14) Berrylicious grape juice, mixed berries
15) Little Tart Tropical strawberry, pineapple, papaya
16) Delicious C orange juice, mixed berries
17) Sunny Monkey orange juice, banana
18) Pure Tropical strawberry, banana, guava
19) O.R. Mango mango, orange, banana

 The gal I went with ordered a Tofu Wrap.  It seems like their wraps are made with the sprouted tortillas (not raw).  My hubby gets this one as well.  Also the Rice Bowl with Brown Rice & Veggies looks like it is a fair amount of food. Hubby's absolute favorite are the Veggie Spring Rolls.

Juices23) Beta Bunny organic carrot juice
24) Liver’s Nutrition carrot + red beet
25) Special Blend carrot + orange juice
26) *CCR carrot + celery + red beet
27) *Kidney’s Veggie carrot + celery + parsley
28) *Potassium Rich carrot + parsley + spinach
29) *Blood Builder carrot + fennel + red beet
30) *Kyrogreen Mix carrot + kyrogreens
30a) *Ginger Tonic ginger + apple + spinach + carrot
Organic Wheatgrass Single shot or Double shot

Overall, this place rocks.  It isn't the biggest, but there is enough seating to hang out for hours with the girls.  They have bubble teas (soy milk offered) and a lots of espresso types of drinks as well.  Everyone seems to be able to find something to eat.  The prices are okay....middle of the range.  Totally casual environment.  And just a great location.  There are very few places in the entire St. Louis area that offer "clean" food and actually have vegan/gluten free options.  So even though this place has some non-veg stuff, the veggie stuff is still high enough quality that it makes it worth it.  And they seem to really "know" what is vegan and have clear labelling on their menu.  A few dishes also have "may be made vegan" as well, so it is very easy to order here.  And the fact that they have freshly made juices here from real veggies like celery, carrots & beets-well also a rarity here.  So it is on my short list for sure.  PuraVegan and VegaDeli are above it.  Since they are both ALL vegan.  But.....this is basically 3rd on the list, along with Whole Foods Salad Bar.

These kids will hopefully at least get T&R (trapped, spayed/neutered and released).  But since they are not "feral" we would love for them to find real homes.  These are short clips from our East St. Louis Feedings of the stray dogs & cats.  Pj & GPG have been going every single day for well over a decade, to care for these kids.  Feed, Rescue, Foster, and Adopt..... 

www.gatewaypets.com

And Lloyd.  Who has been out here for at least 5 years.  But Pj sees him on & off.  We have been seeing him on a fairly regular basis right now.  Poor guy is getting gray on the streets.  He is a bit alpha though so Pj thinks he would do best with a submissive female or as an only dog.  She didn't think he would fare so well with cats......she is just guessing based upon how he is on the streets.  However, he seems like a real sweetheart with people. All Photos below are from January 26, 2012 Feedings in East St. Louis.  All of these kids are up for adoption, but they need fosters.  As soon as we get a foster, we can pull them.

 Horton.  His pack has been rescued so he is trying to make new friends.

Knuckles.  Most likely on the short list as he needs his "elbow" checked.  It may be dislocated, and we may or may not be able to fix it.  But we want to at least check.

 This group is nearly always here.  At least 5 cats.  Mr. Tux, the black & white one, is always the first to come out.  The siamese is a little shy but really funny.

 They aren't really "feral" because they come when Pj drives up, and they let her pet them.  Picking them up may or may not be difficult, depending on the cat.  If we rescued them we would most likely have to trap them. But they need fosters.

 So cute!

 Rebel is a newer little girl on the route.  Pj thinks she has had one litter of puppies.  She wants to pull her before she has another, but is just working on getting her to come a bit closer each time.  She is really shy right now and I couldn't believe she was this close.  We were both in the car at this point.  But the first time we saw her she just kept running the opposite direction.  She didn't associate Pj's car with food at that time.  Now she has learned....

Poor RaRa.  Every time Pj sees her, she asks if anyone wanted to foster her.  And Pj has to tell her that there are no fosters for her.  Even though she was in the documentary and has been such a sweet girl out here.  She would probably do best with a submissive male (like most women, right?).  

This is one cat from an actual "colony" of kids.  They are on a different street from Mr. Tux and the bunch.  Only a few came out this day, but this one was so funny as he was hanging out on the roof.

www.gatewaypets.com